Japan firm recalls 8 million bottles of U.S. mineral water

A Japanese firm recalled eight million
bottles of U.S. mineral water on Monday after consumers complained it smelled
like insecticide and medicine.

The case is the latest food scare in Japan, where consumer confidence has been shaken after several people complained of
becoming ill from eating Chinese-made dumplings containing insecticide and
instant noodles that had a chemical used in mothballs, reproted Reuters.

Otsuka Beverage Co Ltd, which is unlisted,
said it is recalling the Crystal Geyser mineral water after receiving 75
complaints in October about its smell.

Spokesman Kazuhiko Horiuchi said the firm
did not find any abnormalities in the water, but the plastic bottles may have
absorbed smells they were exposed to during storage.

He said no one had been made ill and the
company saw no health effects.

The water's manufacturer, CG Roxane LLC,
gives a contact address in San Francisco on its website. It also lists
locations of springs across the United States where the water is obtained and
says the water can be kept for several years but is best stored in an odor-free
environment.

Japan has been hit
by a string of food safety scandals in recent years, after traditional sweets
and cookies were found to have false labeling and tainted food, such as frozen
dumplings and beans, were found to be imported from China.

Last month, Kirin Beverage, part of
Japanese brewer Kirin Holdings, recalled over half a million bottles of French
mineral water Volvic after finding some of it smelled like paint.